NEW
ORLEANS, April 7 /PRNewswire/
-- Although they are
"very concerned" about
the need to double glove
as a means of protection
against potential
exposure to blood and
body fluids during
surgery, operating room
nurses at this week's
Association of
PeriOperative Registered
Nurses (AORN) Congress
in New Orleans report
they only double glove
42 percent as much as
they think they should.
In a
random sample of
approximately 1,500
operating room nurses at
the AORN Congress,
Regent Medical asked
about double gloving
issues. Regent Medical
is committed to the
science of protection
for healthcare
professionals.
One-fourth (24 percent)
of operating room nurses
responding to the survey
indicated that they
currently double glove
during 100 percent of
their cases. Another 26
percent of respondents
say they only double
glove during 10 percent
of their surgical cases.
However, 41 percent feel
they should double glove
all the time -- in 100
percent of their cases.
When
asked how concerned they
are about the need to
double glove, 47 percent
of respondents reported
that they are "very
concerned," while 30
percent said they were
"somewhat concerned."
Only 17
percent of operating
room nurses responding
to the survey said their
hospital or surgical
facility has a protocol
requiring double
gloving.
Additionally, 86 percent
of survey respondents
said they believed that
visibly seeing where a
breach has occurred when
it happens would be
superior protection.
"Double
gloving should be
routinely used in major
surgery," says Ronald L.
Nichols, MD, William
Henderson Professor of
Surgery-Emeritus and
Professor of
Microbiology and
Immunology at Tulane
University School of
Medicine, New Orleans.
"I believe this will
greatly help protect the
healthcare worker and
patient from exposure to
microorganisms and blood
borne viruses," Dr.
Nichols adds.
Decreasing Risk
According to Dr.
Nichols, "The most
critical factors in the
prevention of
postoperative
infections, although
difficult to quantify,
are the sound judgment
and proper technique of
the surgeon and surgical
team, as well as the
general health and
disease state of the
patient." (1)
Double
gloving can
significantly decrease
risk. (2) Professional
societies also support
double gloving as a
means of reducing risk
in certain procedures.
The Association of
PeriOperative Registered
Nurses states, "Wearing
two pairs of gloves
(i.e., double-gloving)
may be indicated for
some procedures to
reduce the potential for
contact with blood and
body fluids. (3) The
American College of
Surgeons Committee on
Operating Room
Environment says,
"Double gloving does
help to cut down by a
factor of ten the number
of potential exposures
... " (4)
A
healthcare
professional's risk of
exposure and the
subsequent potential for
seroconversion can be
significant. Published
seroconversion rates are
hepatitis B virus (HBV),
1/10; hepatitis C virus
(HCV), 1/20; and HIV,
1/300. (5)
"Double
gloving is an important
risk management tool,"
says Carolyn Twomey,
director of clinical
affairs, Regent
Medical. "Industry
surveys show glove
failure rates vary from
11 percent to 51 percent
(6), so we believe it is
critical to take
measures to protect both
the practitioner and the
patient as much as
possible. Our patented
Biogel® Indicator(TM)
color puncture
indication system is the
only proven system that
clearly lets you know
when the outer glove has
been breeched in the
presence of fluid,"
Twomey adds. Use of a
double indicator glove
system results in
significantly greater
detection of punctures
(78%) during the
operation than using
single glove (42%). (7)
(1) Nichols RL. Preventing Surgical Site Infections: A Surgeon's
Perspective. Emerging Infectious Diseases 2001; (7)2.
(2) Perry J, Jagger J. Lessons from an HCV-Infected Surgeon. Bulletin of
the American College of Surgeons 2002; 87:8-13. Accessed at:
http://www.facs.org/fellows)_info/bulletin/perry0302.pdf on
September 24, 2002. Standard and Transmission-Based Precautions.
AORN 2002 Standards, Recommended Practices and Guidelines; AORN:2002.
(3) AORN. 2002 Standards, Recommended Practices and Guidelines:2002.
AORN, Inc.
(4) ACS. Preventing Disease in the Operating Room. Panel discussion.
American College of Surgeons Spring Meeting. April 29, 1998.
Accessed at
http://www.facs.org:80/about_college/acscomm/core/coreprev.html .
(5) OSHA seeks plan to curb needlesticks. The American College of
Orthopedic Surgeons Bulletin 1998; 1 (84).
(6) Quebbeman EJ, et al. Double Gloving: Protecting Surgeons from blood
contamination in the operative room Archives of Surgery 1992;
127:213-217.
(7) Naver LPS, Gottrup F, Incidence of glove performance in
gastrointestinal surgery and the prospective, randomized controlled
study, Eur J Surg 2000: 166:293-295.
About Regent Medical
Regent
Medical Ltd, the only
major medical glove
company with an
exclusively powder-free
medical glove line, has
been responding to the
ever- changing needs of
healthcare professionals
since 1983 and is
committed to providing
the science of
protection. Offering a
comprehensive product
line of high quality,
technically advanced
surgical gloves and skin
antisepsis products,
Regent Medical provides
Biogel® powder-free,
latex surgical gloves,
Biogel® Skinsense(TM)
powder-free, non-latex
surgical gloves, Biogel®
Optifit(TM) powder-free
surgical gloves,
HIBICLENS®
antiseptic/antimicrobial
skin cleanser and
HIBISTAT® waterless
germicidal hand rinse
products. Headquartered
in Norcross, GA, more
information about Regent
Medical can be found at
http://www.regentmedical.com
.
